STORAGE

As requirements for enterprise and high-performance computing continue to converge due to unabated data growth in both markets, Silicon Graphics today announced the industry's first 4-gigabit Fibre Channel-based storage system designed for the mid-range market: the SGI InfiniteStorage 4000. The SGI InfiniteStorage 4000 continues the tradition of industry-leading storage technology from SGI's InfiniteStorage product line. Delivering cost-effective, scalable storage, the SGI InfiniteStorage 4000 features a combination of capacity and adaptable performance that will help IT organizations meet the current and future needs of highly technical computing and business applications. "With the SGI InfiniteStorage 4000, SGI is demonstrating its commitment to providing customers with versatile storage systems that deliver scalability and high performance in a cost-effective package. SGI delivered 4Gb storage to the market before anyone else and has a strong history of delivering reliable high performance," said John Howarth, director, Storage Group, SGI. "Allowing smaller businesses and workgroups access to 4Gb Fibre Channel storage means that they can take advantage of technology previously limited to large scale, big-budget high-cost installations; and realize significant cost and time savings." SGI InfiniteStorage 4000 offers greater flexibility for IT organizations allowing them to balance capacity and performance needs to fit their situation. For businesses with ERP, CRM and corporate databases, the SGI InfiniteStorage 4000 can be configured with features to deliver the highest levels of interactive performance. Alternately, for technical environments that require the movement of large amounts of data, the SGI InfiniteStorage 4000 can be deployed as price/performance storage for streaming data. As a repository for reference data or as a second tier in a data lifecycle management hierarchy the SGI InfiniteStorage 4000 can serve as low-cost, large capacity storage, scaling up to 56TB in a single system. In addition, the SGI InfiniteStorage 4000 gives customers more choice by allowing them to select the appropriate drive type, and even allowing them to intermix Fibre Channel and SATA drives to maximize performance and minimize costs. Today's IT managers are continuously challenged by the ever increasing need for data storage, flat or declining budgets and lack of data center space. The SGI InfiniteStorage 4000 counters these challenges by delivering a platform that is cost effective, easy to manage, and 54% more dense than previous storage systems. Moreover, the SGI InfiniteStorage 4000 provides superior investment protection. The SGI InfiniteStorage 4000 can be seamlessly upgraded to an enterprise-class SGI InfiniteStorage 4500 with data in place when business requirements demand even more performance and/or scalability. The new 4GB Fibre Channel enclosures can also be added to most SGI legacy systems to extend the value of past investments still in production. Availability The SGI InfiniteStorage 4000, based on Engenio technology, can be ordered today for delivery this quarter and is RoHS compliant. As needs for capacity and scalability grow, the SGI InfiniteStorage 4500 will start shipping in June. For more information, contact SGI or visit its Web site.